NEW YORK — American Airlines argued before a federal bankruptcy judge Monday that its union contracts must be changed to make the company financially stable.

The airline lost more than $10 billion in the decade leading up to its bankruptcy declaration in November. During that same period, most of its major rivals used the bankruptcy process to cut wages and benefits.

American says it is saddled with higher labor costs. It wants to eliminate 13,000 union jobs — about one in every four union workers — freeze or terminate pension plans, curb health benefits, reduce time off and impose many other cuts.

“A restructured job is better than no job at all,” Jack Gallagher, a lawyer for the airline, argued in court. Noting that once-great airlines such as PanAm and TWA have disappeared, he said, “We don’t want to join them.”

The airline also told Judge Sean Lane that management costs will be cut by 20 percent through layoffs and wage cuts.

If the nation’s third-biggest airline gets its way, it will cement a decade-long overhaul of the airline industry that has seen major carriers use the bankruptcy process to cut wages and eliminate union work rules. The Associated Press

More in Business

A prominent white nationalist is suing Twitter for banning his accounts at a time when social networks are trying to crack down on hateful and abusive content without appearing to censor unpopular opinions.

The social media service Twitter is believed to have suspended thousands of accounts for being automated bots, or for other policy violations, drawing outcry from fringe conservative media figures who lost followers in the move.

Two senior U.S. Geological Survey officials have stepped down after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke demanded that they provide his office with confidential data on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska before it was released to the general public.